Rape cases increasing in Mumbai

MUMBAI: The gang-rape of a 22-year-old Mumbai magazine photojournalist has created a stir across the country. While the police have arrested one of the five accused, others are on the run. Ironically, while the victim's family had reached the N M Joshi Marg police station at 8.30pm, the senior IPS officials were unaware about the incident till 10pm. The incident had taken place at a deserted mill compound at around 6pm.

The gang rape, that has again questioned the police's credibility and their fear in a criminal's mind, is one of the most shocking in the recent past. Going by the police records, the rape has been on a drastic rise in the last 10 years. Chetan Kothari, an RTI activist, who gathered the details after making several rounds of cops stations, said, "It's not easy to get statistical details from the police. They are reluctant. It took three months to get the details on the rape in the last 10 years." He provides these details to the Mumbaikars free of cost. As per the RTI, while 128 women were raped in 2002, the figure reached to 231 in 2012, an increase of 80 per cent in rape. This year till March, 89 female including 46 minors were raped in Mumbai.

While the detection rate of rape cases has been 94% (2012) and 95% (2011) respectively, the conviction rate is an abysmal. Only one of the five rape suspects arrested is punished with a conviction rate of just 22 per cent. The figures are shocking; 1631 women and girls were raped in the last 10 years and the police arrested 2,072 persons on charges of rape. However, only 346 rapists were punished. More surprising is the fact that a police constable Chandrakant Pawar of Sahar police, who was given 15 years in jail for allegedly raping a rag picker minor girl, was acquitted by the Bombay HC in 2001. Surprisingly, the D B Marg police, which has registered 46 rape cases and arrested 91 people in the last ten years, could secure conviction only in two cases. In a Juhu rape case, a rape convict was just fined for Rs 3,000.

After the Nirbhaya gang-rape case in New Delhi early this year, the Mumbai police announced to start counseling centers for women in Ghatkopar, Dadar, Bandra, Chembur etc. However, its been more than eight months the cells are yet to be started. There have been demand for women officers and constables to hear a woman's complaint who is sexually assaulted. The police made the tall claim to start the cells but their ambitious project is yet to take off.